Posted By: Devin_Gmitter ·
The world's number one player, Luke Donald was a late entrant into the Children's Miracle Network Hospitals Classic. He announced his entry via Twitter proposing his goal to win the season long PGA Tour money title. Already leading the European Tour Money list by $1.8 million over Rory McIlroy, Donald aimed to become the first player ever to win both money titles in the same calender year.
Luke's chances looked slim entering the final round five strokes off the 54-hole lead in 13th place. At the turn, he was still two strokes behind the current money leader Webb Simpson, but Donald (in FJ ICON MyJoys) pieced together a brilliant back nine to charge up the leaderboard. He ran in 6 straight birdies on the back nine, including a holed 45 foot putt on the par-3 15th to give himself a two stroke lead. With pars on his last three holes, Donald finished the tournament at 17 under. He was two strokes clear of the field with several players still on the course. All of those players; including Simpson, could not match the brilliant back nine of Donald as Simpson finished tied for 6th.
The win gave Donald his second PGA Tour victory of the year, his 14th top ten of the year, and the season long money race on the PGA Tour. Donald has five possible starts left on the European Tour for a chance to become the first player ever to win both money titles.
Posted By: Chris Garrett ·
WGC-Bridgestone Invitational
Hunter Mahan won for the second time this year, coming from four shots back to start the day to win the World Golf Championship - Bridgestone Invitational. Mahan ran off five birdies on the front nine to take the lead, then had three clutch par saves down the stretch to finish off a 6-under 64 and a two-shot victory over fellow FJ player, Ryan Palmer (FJ ICON style #52005). While both players wore FJ ICON golf shoes, Hunter went with a custom design through the MyJoys program. Hunter also wore a StaSof glove while Palmer opted for SciFlex.
Mahan's victory locked up a spot on the United States Ryder Cup team as he is now No. 2 in points with only this week's PGA Championship remaining before the top eight Americans qualify. Hunter has played on the last three U.S. teams as a Captains Pick.
"That was my goal at the beginning of the year, to make the team on my own," Mahan said.
Hunter shot a final round 6-under 64 to finish with a 12-under 268 total. He became the third American with multiple victories on the PGA TOUR this year, and likely will move to a career-best No. 12 in the world.
Turning Stone Resort Championship
Meanwhile at the Turning Stone Resort Championship, it was a major accomplishment of a different sort for FJ player Bill Lunde (FJ ICON). Less than five years after he quit competitive golf, he earned a spot in next week's PGA Championship by winning the Turning Stone Resort Championship. Lunde shot a final round 6-under 66 to rally for a come-from-behind victory with a 17-under 271 total.
"All these guys out here, you're never far from playing good. You can sit here and say, 'I'm playing awful, I don't know how I'm going to break 80 today,' but you're never that far off."
Lunde made the weekend cut by one stroke and but trailed by only four heading into the final round following a 64 on Saturday. Lunde climbed to the top of Sunday's leaderboard with six birdies and a 30 on the front side.
None of the success seemed possible to Lunde in 2005 when he stopped playing after a tough year on the Nationwide Tour. He went to the PGA TOUR's Q-School in November and didn't qualify for the second stage so found a job in real estate in Las Vegas. He returned to the Nationwide Tour in 2008 and took advantage of his second chance. He won the Nationwide Children's Hospital Invitational that year and finished fifth on the money list, which earned him a spot on the PGA TOUR in 2009.
"I tried to make an agreement with myself when I started playing again to ... if I could just have a better attitude right off the bat, I'd become a better player than I ever was before," he said. "And that was kind of my goal. Obviously it doesn't happen every day, but it's definitely better than it was and something I'll probably battle for the rest of my life. I'm just so competitive. I can't handle not playing well or bad breaks. It gets me down."
Posted By: Chris Garrett ·
Paul Goydos (FJ ICON black smooth calfskin bicycle toe, SciFlex glove) became just the fourth person to fire a 59 on the PGA Tour when he scorched TPC Deere Run yesterday during the first round of the John Deere Classic. Goydos birdied every hole on the back nine except for No. 15, where he holed a six-foot par putt to keep a sub-60 in sight. He finished off with three birdies, the last one from seven feet to join the most exclusive club in golf. You can read all about the round on pgatour.com or hear about it from Goydos himself in the video below (click here if video does not appear). One of the most amazing aspects of the day yesterday, in addition to Goydos' feat, is that it was nearly matched by the man who previously help the course record, Steve Stricker (Custom all-white DryJoys MyJoys, Pure Touch Limited glove). Needing an eagle at the last to reach 59, Stricker's approach appeared headed for the cup but curled around at the last second, leaving him a 2-footer for birdie and a first round 11-under 60. With a morning tee time on Friday, Stricker will have first crack at a repeat performance and also the opportunity to set the tone heading into the weekend. Stay tuned, this could get pretty wild!
Posted By: Chris Garrett ·
Luke Donald eagled the 16th hole on Sunday to shoot a 5-under 67 and win the Madrid Masters by a single stroke.
Donald, who wore a stunning pair of custom FJ ICON MyJoys, finished at 21-under 267 at Club de Campo and collected his third European Tour victory. The Englishman won twice in 2004 on the European Tour and twice on the PGA Tour, but Donald hadn't made it to the winner's circle anywhere since the 2006 Honda Classic on the PGA Tour.
"It's definitely a weight off my shoulders," said Donald. "I felt a little frustrated that I hadn't won in the last four years. I tried to stay positive today."
This was also sweet retribution from last week. Donald was tied for the lead last Sunday at the BMW PGA Championship, but double-bogeyed the 17th hole to lose by a stroke.
"Last week was very disappointing," acknowledged Donald. "To put it behind me and come out here and win this week, I'm very proud of the way I played. It feels really good."
Posted By: Chris Garrett ·
Hunter Mahan won the Waste Management Phoenix Open for his second PGA TOUR title Sunday, closing with a second consecutive bogey-free 6-under 65 to come from four strokes down. He becomes the seventh player in the season's first nine events to win wearing FootJoy golf shoes and the second consecutive to win wearing FJ ICON MyJoys. Hunter also relied on a StaSof glove.
The 27-year-old Mahan had an eagle and a pair of birdies in a late four-hole span Sunday to finish at 16-under 268. Since winning the 2007 Travelers Championship, Mahan has continued to improve each year. He played on the 2008 Ryder Cup team and had six top-10s in 2009, including a runner-up finish at the AT&T National.
"It's just finding a way to win. I just haven't been able to do it," he said. "So obviously it feels great to get off the year on my fifth tournament to win. It gives me a lot of confidence in myself that I'm doing the right things in my game, and it feels great, it really does."
The shot of the tournament for Mahan came at the par-5 13th when he hit his second shot from 250 yards to within seven feet and made the eagle putt to reach 14-under par. His 18-foot birdie putt on the par-4 14th moved him into the lead and then the clincher came at the notorious 16th, the par 3 surrounded by bleachers filled with noisy, irreverent fans who cheer and boo with equal enthusiasm.
Mahan's tee shot caught the edge of the green and he made the subsequent 14-foot putt to regain the lead at 16 under and he would never look back.
** During the 2010 PGA Tour season, when FJ WINS, YOU WIN. Enter now for your chance to win a pair of FJ ICON golf shoes and a StaSof glove just like Hunter wore during the final round Sunday.